Holiday Stress
Hello from Burlington, I’m Dr. Jean-Marc Slak. Today, I want to talk about stress, holidays, family, gift getting, gift receiving, figuring out what to get everyone, and all the other seasonal demands put on you. Then, on top of that, you’re probably eating too much sugar. Maybe you’re drinking more at festive gatherings than usual. Your schedule, your routine is completely out the window and the kids are going nuts. Stress.
Let’s step back and think about what stress is. Stress is your body’s response to a threatening environment. Now, it’s the holidays, not threatening, …right? However, that’s the response your body is using. We need to mitigate that by giving our bodies a chance to breathe and relax. We have some quick tips here for managing stress.
First, breathe. Deep controlled breaths, settle things down, balance your nervous system.
Second, sing! Go singing. Caroling is probably one of the best things you can do at this time of year. Singing changes the way your central nervous system works; different parts of the brain get activated. It truly helps mitigate stress.
Thirdly, help combat the symptoms of stress by dialing down the sugar and the booze. You may not realize this, but those two things (so popular during this season) can actually make existing and managing stress worse. Dial it down, make sure not to overeat, but mostly stay away from sugar.
The last one, make sure you’re getting enough rest. During this crazy time of year, make sure you set aside time for sleep! Should stress still get to you after all of that, get adjusted. It really, really helps. Right here in Burlington, waiting to have you come in to help you manage stress, I’m Dr. Jean-Marc Slak. I can’t wait to see you.
Call 781-273-0099
